This invention relates generally to amusement watercraft, and in particular to a passenger boat ride in which passenger boats are propelled along a submerged guide channel from a ground level launch or from an inclined launch across or around a watercourse.
Amusement parks and theme parks such as Six Flags Over Texas, Opryland U.S.A., Cedar Point, Carowinds, Busch Gardens, Geauga Lake, Elitch Gardens and many others feature various watercraft rides that are guided safely through natural and man-made waterways. Some watercraft rides that are currently popular include a floating gardens ride, a river rapids ride, a log flume ride and a mill chute ride.
In a typical watercraft ride, a passenger boat is guided along a water channel from a passenger loading station to one or more intermediate stations and back to the passenger loading station. Such boats are usually propelled in part by water currents, gravity or passenger manpower, although some are propelled by motor-driven chains. Generally, variations such as music, sound effects, lighting effects, stage props and costumed characters enhance the entertainment value of the ride.
Some dominant concerns in the operation of such rides include the creation of a sense of fun and excitement while maintaining passenger safety, reliable equipment operation and expedited handling of passengers during loading and off-loading.
Conventional watercraft amusement rides are described in the following patents:
U.S. Pat. No.InventorTitle of Invention357,790SchaeferMarine Boat Slide849,970BoytonAmusement Device3,404,635Bacon et alBoat Amusement Ride3,830,161BaconFlume Boat Ride with a DoubleDownchute4,392,434Durwald et alTurbulent Waterway3,853,067BaconBoat Amusement Ride with aSpillway4,299,171LarsonDemountable Flume AmusementRide4,337,704BeckerTurbulent-Water Way4,149,469BiglerLog Braking and Stabilizing Sys-tem for Log Flume Ride5,011,134LangfordWaterslide with Uphill Run andFlotation Device Therefor3,690,265HoribataAquatic Sled and Shooting Appa-ratus Thereof5,299,964HopkinsAmusement Raft Ride4,836,521BarberWhirlpool Amusement Ride5,069,443ShiratoriWater Slider Lane5,282,772NinomiyaSimulator for Shooting Down theRapids4,391,201BaileyAquatic Toboggan Slide4,543,886SpieldienerAmusement Ride Including a RotatingLoading Terminal3,923,301MyersAmusement Water Slide and Method3,930,450SymonsBoat Ride for Amusement Park5,213,547LochtfeldMethod and Apparatus for ImprovedWater Rides by Water Injection andFlume Design4,516,943SpieldienerAmusement Ride Raft
These patents disclose various watercraft amusement rides in which a passenger boat is propelled through a flume or guided down an inclined launch, and then recovered. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 849,970 discloses an inclined launch in which a pair of passenger boats is winched up dual tracks by sprocket-driven chains, is reversed on a turntable and then permitted to descend the launch by the force of gravity along the inclined tracks into a splash lake. The boats are guided by wheels along the guide tracks during descent.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,830,161 discloses a flume boat ride having dual launch chutes that guide amusement boats through a shallow body of water. A similar boat ride is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,404,635 in which a pair of passenger boats is guided from an elevated passenger loading station along dual tracks into a waterway.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,392,434 discloses an amusement boat ride in which a passenger boat is pulled by a chain drive to a launch station above a turbulent waterway. The passenger boat is then released from the chain drive and travels by gravity on guide wheels that roll along a guide track.
Conventional watercraft rides as exemplified by the patents discussed above broadly disclose the concept of guiding one or more amusement boats from an elevated launch into a waterway.
The operators of amusement parks are constantly striving to provide safe, yet thrilling and entertaining boat rides. Accordingly, there is a continuing interest in providing novel watercraft rides that offer passengers a memorable and exciting ride experience under closely controlled, safe operating conditions.